Gilgamesh

The amazing thing about religion is through the thousands of years it has existed; we see hardly any change in its core values and traditions. In the the story the Epic of Giglamesh, we embark on a journey with a hardheaded ruler named Giglamesh. As we follow his voyage, we are introduced to the many traditions and beliefs of his society. There are numerous God’s with different purposes that guide Giglamesh’s path and leave the readers confident that every aspect of his life has direction. We as readers may not be used to some of these religious ideas, but if we read further we may be surprised. The Gods depicted in the Epic of Giglamesh share some of the same prominent and important traits and values as the Christian God and religion worshiped in today’s society.

The god’s in the Epic of Giglamesh and the Christian worshiped God both create companions for their people. In The Epic of Giglamesh, a companion needed to be made for Giglamesh, someone that could equal his own strength and maybe calm him down from being such a power driven ruler. When the Gods saw the problem Giglamesh had become, they begged his creator to give him a companion, an equal, which is where Enkidu came in to play. “You made him, O Aruru, now create his equal; let it be as like him as his own reflection, his second self, stormy heart for stormy heart. Let them contend together and leave Uruk in quiet” (Bedford Anthology 49). When one soul needs another, it is up to the Gods to create that other being. This is just like the worshiped Christian God today who created the companionship between Adam and Eve; one soul needing another soul. It is in the partnerships created by the God’s that fulfill purpose on earth. Enkidu and Giglamesh felt their purpose was to spread their might and power, and gain fame.

While trying to show their strength and power by defeating Humbaba, Giglamesh and Enkidu looked to their...

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...Ashley Torres
11/4/12
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Gilgamesh and the 21 Century Hero
A hero is someone who tries the best to help everyone and will do everything in his or her power to help out another person. The term hero means different things to different people. Today many people believe that a hero is a person who can accomplish what others cannot or a person who puts themselves on the line for the other people. Men, women and children can all be heroes if they truly feel in their hearts the need to help others in even the smallest ways. In our modern world heroes are defined in so many ways. Anyone can be a hero, a best friend, a devoted mother/father, a teacher, etc. On the other hand, in the older days, before laws and technology, heroes were the men who fought against evil things, who rescue damsels in distress; they were the manly men, the king's knights, god like creatures, brave warriors. As criteria for any epic story a hero must be involved in the story. Furthermore, these heroes had to meet also specific criteria. The definition of an ancient time hero is very different than a hero today yet in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh meets many of the traits in today’s hero.
Gilgamesh, is much like the heroes of today he achieves many acts of skill, which makes him famous and fulfill the requirements todays hero by being consistently relating to a human society and demonstrates immortality, friendship, grief, ect....

...﻿GILGAMESH
By MET
The myth known today as The Epic of Gilgamesh was considered in ancient times to be one of the great masterpieces of cuneiform literature. Copies of parts of the story have been found in Israel, Syria, and Turkey and references to the hero are attested in Greek and Roman literature.
The tale revolves around a legendary hero named Gilgamesh (Bilgames in Sumerian), who was said to be the king of the Sumerian city of Uruk. His father is identified as Lugalbanda, king of Uruk, and his mother is the wise cow goddess Ninsun. No contemporary information is known about Gilgamesh, who, if he was in fact an historical person, would have lived around 2700 B.C. Nor is there any preserved early third-millennium version of the poem. During the twenty-first century B.C., Shulgi, ruler of the Sumerian city of Ur, was a patron of the literary arts. He sponsored a revival of older literature and established academies of scholars at his capital Ur and at the holy city of Nippur. Shulgi claimed Lugalbanda as his father and Gilgamesh as his brother.
Although little of the courtly literature of the Shulgi academies survives, and Sumerian ceased to be a spoken language soon after the end of his dynasty, Sumerian literature continued to be studied in the scribal schools of the following Old Babylonian period. Five Sumerian stories about Gilgamesh were copied in these schools. These...

...Dreams of Gilgamesh
When looking into the meanings of dreams, a variation of things can be found. Most people believe that dreams are a reflection of people’s inner thoughts and feelings. Most of these feelings are too private to be expressed in the real world and that is why they are expressed in a fantasy type way through dreams.
In Gilgamesh, dreams are used as a form of communication between the Gods and humans. Major events are seen through these dreams and fantasies are foretold. In the ancient Mesopotamian culture, dreams play a major role. Dreams foretold the coming of Enkidu, the death of Enkidu, the protection of Shamhat during the battle with Humbaba, and much more. The fact that dreams play such an important role in this story, would lead you to believe that dreams have a significant place in society.
The first mention of dreams in Gilgamesh come with Enkidu and the harlot in the wilderness. The purpose of this scene is to show that dreams tell the future. It is important for Gilgamesh to know that Enkidu is coming because he needs to know that Enkidu is there to bring him no harm. Enkidu was created to be on Gilgamesh’s side, not to challenge him.
In the next scene Gilgamesh has a dream but he did not understand the dream so he asks his mother its meaning. “Mother, I had a dream last night: There were stars of heaven around me, Like the force of heaven, something kept...

...The Epic of Gilgamesh: Are Gilgamesh and Enkidu Equal?
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest literary work has been found so far. It has written onto twelve tablets of clay. The epic recounts the adventures of Gilgamesh who is the historical king of Uruk. Uruk was located, the east of the Euphrates, these days it is located within the borders of Iraq. In this epic, the life of Gilgamesh is handled. Throughout the epic both human and god elements can be observed of Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh was the hero of the kingdom of Uruk. He was known as the most strongest and powerful living thing. He was not a total person or a total god; his two thirds were god and one third was human. His mother was a goddess; thus, he had the strength of the gods. As a description of Gilgamesh, it’s said that “He is fair in manhood, dignified in bearing, graced with charm is whole person. He is strength more mighty than yours, unsleeping he is by day and by night.”(page 9). Therefore, he was a very forceful human-god and his primary target was to kill other strongest ones and become more powerful in the eyes of the other gods and other people. Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s devoted friend, on the other hand, had also super-human powers. He was not a god, but he has the strength of scores of wild animals. To describe Enkidu, while he was talking to harlot, she said that “You are...

...The Epic of Gilgamesh
Through numerous experiences: his friendship with Enkidu, their dreams and journies together, and his quest for immortality, Gilgamesh changes from a selfish and cruel individual to a wise leader.
Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, was a spoiled and selfish person in character. There was no one who compared to his kingliness and as a result was running around Uruk out of control and unchecked. In efforts to find a balance Aruru created Enkidu out of clay and sent him into the wilderness to ultimately act as a counterbalance for Gilgamesh. There are many similarities between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, they were both endowed with traits gifted to them by the gods, they both had great strength and attributes, and they both were kings or king-like in their own lands. The most important similarity was the way they both cherished their friendship. When the two initially met they were not on good terms, they did not meet with intent to become friends, but did so after Enkidu challenged Gilgamesh to a fight and lost. I think Gilgamesh at this point thinks so highly of himself that he respects Enkidu for trying or even attempting to challenge him. After the brawl, Enkidu recognizes that Gilgamesh is unique in his strength and agility, after they kissed and became friends Gilgamesh changes almost instantly because he has someone educate...

...of Gilgamesh
For my essay I chose the question, “What does this story teach us about Mesopotamian religion?” A few main points that I will be discussing are: the relationship between humans and gods, why humans pray/praise the gods, and the understanding of why Gilgamesh could not become immortal and why he was afraid of the afterlife. I chose this question because I felt that the god’s had a major impact on Gilgamesh’s life. For example; Shamash, the sun god, giving protection to Gilgamesh and Enkidu, or Ishtar, the goddess of war and love, sends the Bull of Heaven down to Uruk to gore Gilgamesh (even though she does not succeed).
Gilgamesh has many relationships with many different gods. He was created from the goddess Aruru, and his mother and father were both gods also. Gilgamesh himself was 2 parts god and 1 part human, which made him immortal and that will lead into another discussion later on in my paper.
When Ishtar saw Gilgamesh after he defeated Humbaba she grew full of lust, “seeing the beauty of Gilgamesh” (Sandars, 85). When he rejects her, she gets so angry that she sent the Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh. After killing hundreds of men, Gilgamesh and Enkidu finally defeat the bull. But the point of this is to show the impact a god could have on a human’s life. So I feel that, that is a reason a lot of the...

...-Some differences between Gilgamesh and Enkidu are that Gilgamesh is handsome and basically flawless in his looks; Enkidu looks almost like a beast. Gilgamesh is mostly god and is filled with courage, fearless one could say. Enkidu was born of the wild, growing up among the wild animals and learning how to live off the land, so he knows what to fear and what not to. Gilgamesh is arrogant, Enkidu is not.
Some similarities between the two are that they are both strong, almost undefeatable; no match for anyone but the other one.
These differences and similarities are important because it helps shape the epic and helps the story flow.
-One intersting difference is that Enkidu can interpret dreams and Gilgamesh can’t. This is significant, because if Gilgamesh could interpret dreams that would make Enkidu less of a character and he would mean less to the story. Also if Gilgamesh is able to interpret dreams it would appear too much of a common placed thing and he would have no real need for Enkidu except for brute strengh. One similarity that they share is that they both show fatigue. This is significant, because it shows that they are both human and that they do have their limits.
-The differences between Gilgemesh and Enkidu are that Gilgemesh came from a more prominent/noble society and the fact that Gilgemesh is 2/3 God and 1/3 man. But it just shows that Gilgemesh thinks...

...The Epic of Gilgamesh
The story of Gilgamesh was one of the world’s first literary works but most importantly the very first epic. “An epic or heroic poem is a long narrative poem, on a serious subject [that was] written in a grand or elevated style, centered on a larger-than-life hero” (Lynch). Because it was only recited orally for many centuries it was forgotten and vanished until “it was recorded at Sumer in the late third millennium B.C.E” (Fiero 19). The story of Gilgamesh is about an arrogant ruler, who changes because of an immense love and friendship with his companion Enkidu, it is a story about the wisdom he acquires with his journeys, and the inevitability of death.
The story begins with the introduction of the two main characters, Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The love these friends will stumble upon for each other makes both of them change as individuals. From their initial encounter they will discard part of their own lives and give a piece of them to each other. Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk is described as two thirds god and one third human. The Gods bestowed upon him courage, strength and beauty. “In our first view of him, Gilgamesh is the epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive and brutal” (Lawall 10). He has no consideration for the people in Uruk he forces labor upon them, kills their sons and rapes their daughters, leaving “neither the warrior’s daughter nor the wife of...